New Delhi - The Indian government will soon introduce a bivalent oral polio vaccine to check the persistent spread of the disease, federal Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Saturday.

India, one of the four polio endemic countries according to the World Health Organization, reported 568 polio cases so far in 2009, though it had a total of 559 cases in 2008, according to government figures.

Azad said the special drive would be undertaken in 10 states to check the persistent prevalence of the disease with special focus on worst affected Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

A total of 500,000 children were expected to be vaccinated Saturday as part of children's day celebrations in India, a Health Ministry release said.

Children's Day is celebrated in India on November 14, the birth anniversary of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Uttar Pradesh had witnessed a sharp rise in cases reporting 454, while Bihar had reported 68 polio cases so far in 2009, Azad said.

The special vaccination drive would cover children in urban slums and street children in the two states as well as migratory populations, such as children of brick kiln and construction workers and nomadic people, Azad said.

India has spent millions of rupees on immunisation but eradicating polio remains a challenge. The government has said it hopes to wipe out the disease by 2012.

India's Pulse Polio Immunisation programme began in 1995-96 and is one of the largest public health interventions in the world.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects small children. It can cause permanent paralysis and death, but can be prevented through immunization.

The virus is spread through contaminated food and water. The bulk of recently reported cases in India occurred among poor communities.

Health experts say even if one child anywhere is infected, children in all countries are at risk, as the virus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and spread rapidly in populations which are not immunized.

Besides India, the other endemic countries are Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. (dpa)